Elevating grader



Patented l narran star.,

regatas ra'rsar releerl Janus D. Bennet/v, or Annone, trainers. Assiettes. re ywLeern-isn Wrrnnnnn soRArnR corvranv, or annoiare, immers, A ceRPonATIoN er Immers.

.ELEVATING GRADER.

Application. filed. 'May 2S,

To all 107mm t may concern.'

Be it known that l, .laitue D. BnNnow, a :itizen of the United States, and a resident of Aurora, in the county of Kane and State of lllinois, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Elev/.ating Graders, of which the following` is a specilication, reference being had tothe accompanying,` drawings.

This invention relates to gradingymachines -ot that type employingY an endless conveyor i belt that projects to a considerable distance at one side of the main frame ot the machine and upon the lower. portion ot which belt the soil turned up by the plow that is' carried by such frame is deposited and cai ried upward and discharged over the upper end of the elevator. rlhe object of the invention is to provide improved means adjacent to the lower'end ofthe elevator whereby the bearings or bozles for the rollerat the lower end of the elevator and over which the endlessconveyor belt runs are supported so as to be adjusted as required longitudinally of the elevator for the purpose of holding the belt in properly stretched condition, and in connection with such adjusting' means to provide a pan arranged to catch dirt, pebbles, trash, Sac., and having); Scrapers for removing such matter from the roller and belt, so that it will be caught on the pan, and in that way eilectually prevent such matter from beine,` carried between the said belt and roller and thus save the belt from injury, such parts being so arranged and combined that an adjustment of such bearings or boxes will also result in a simultaneous adjustniient of the pan and the scraper-s carried by it, or the pan with the scrapers can Abe independently adjusted. rIhis object'l accomplish as illustratedA in the drawings and as hereinafter particularly described.. That which is believed to be new will be set forth in thc claims.

Fig. l is a side elevation of the lower ,por-

tion of an elevator for a grading; machine, with which is embodied the invention;

Fig'. il is an enlarged view partlyiin vertical section, and showingl perspectively the lower end portion of the elevator-, the Vsection being' taken at lineQQ of Fig: 4; j

Y Fick j) is an enlarged detail taken at line lle-3 l 4f, and showingfthe relation bf theV pan anelits scraper members to the end- Aparts bein broken away;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectionftalren substantiallyon the line 5 5 of Fig. l;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the pan and the scrapii'ig` members carried thereby; j i

Fig. l is a perspective view of one of the two side members at the lower end of the elevator upon which are supported the adjustable bearings or bones for the lower b'eltroller; and

Fig. il is a perspective view of one of the adjustable bearings or boxes for the lower belt-rollen Referring to the several figures of the drawings, l0 indicates the: lower portions ofthe side bar members of the frame of an elevating conveyor that is movably support edv from the wheeled supporting frame of an encavatinp'; machine, asV usual, and projects across such frame to a considerable distance so that earth deposited upon the endless eenveyor belt member of the elevator by the action of the plow that is carried by said main wheeled frame will be moved upwardly and discharged at one side of the line of travel of the machine-all as is well understood. The endless conveyor belt referred to is indicated by ll and will be driven in any usual manner. Ordinarily, such driving oiv the belt will be by means of gearing connected with one 4of the main wheels of the machine and sprocket wheels and a sprocket chain, such chain engaging over a sprocket wheel carried by the outer or upper drum or roller (not shown) of the elevator. I have not deemed it necessary to show `any driving' means for the belt, as such means are well understood and may be of any usual construction and arrangement. Secured to each of the side members l0 of the elevator frame, and located at i intervals therealong', are brackets l2 that overhang the marginal por-- tion of the'u'pper run of the belt and have secured to them wide plates 13 that form side boards for retaining on thebelt llV the are heavy blocks 1st the smooth upper faces of which form seats upon which rest and are secured the adjustable boxes or bearings hereinafter referred to. Each of these blocks 111 has at its forward end a heavy extension that lies against the outer face ot one of the side bar members 10 and is bolted thereto by bolts 15, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. At the forward end of fach of the blocks 1l, which is the higher end when the elevatorl is in operative position as shovm7 is ashort flange l? that stands at right angles to the smooth upper face of the block, and througlnsueh flange is a tapped opening that receives a bolt 18. Lying on the flat upper surface of each block is a heavy plate 19 that has formed with it a journal box or bearing 20 that receii'es the reduced cylindrical end of a heavy roller /"l around which the endless conveyor belt 11 passes. n suitable removable bnshin j 25.) i br s or other material is preferably employed in each bearing. The plate portion 'lil of eat-n bearing member is provided with one or more longitudinal slots F23-two snrh slots bring shown --through each of which a bolt .21 passes, the stem of each bolt also lying` in a notch 25 formed in the outer edge ot' the upper part of a block 1t. rthe head of each bolt engages under the top or plate portion of the block, and nuts 26 on such bolts7 when turned down against the surfaces of the alato members 19 of the bearings, will hold such bearings firmly in place. it is evident that with the several nuts 26 loosened sutiiciently the two bearings can be adjusted so as to cause the desired tightening of the belt, and such movement for belt-tightening purpose is had by turning the screws 18 that pass through the anges 177 each of such screws bearing against an opstanding lug 2'? formed with the plate member 19 of each box or bearing E20. The notches 25 in the sides of the blocks 1li permit the bolts 24tto be readily inserted in or removed from position.

Resting upon the inner edges of the two plate members 19 of the respective boxes or bearings is a metal plate 28 which is termed. a dirt pan because of the fact that dirt scraped from both the roller 21 and inner surface of the upper run of the conveyor belt will be deposited thereon as here ina fter described. Such dirt pan is'secured in place to each of the members 19 by bolts 29 and nuts 30 screwed thereon. These bolts project up through suitable holes in the inner marginal portions of the respective members 19 and pass through slots 81 that are formed in the dirt pan adjacent to the side edges thereof, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. It is evident, therefore, that when the bolts 30 are tightly set any adjustment of the bearings for the purpose of regulating the tension on the conveyor belt will at the same time correspondingly move the dirt pan, but as it is sometimes desirable that the dirt pan be given an zuljustment independent o'l' the adjustment of the bearings the slots 81 in the dirt pan are provided, and it will be evident that by loosening the nuts 30 such independent adjustment can be readily had. At that edge of the dirt pan adjacent to the roller 21 it is provided with a scraper 32 that is here shown as a strip of angle iron, one flange of which is adapted to rest in Contact with the surface of the roller7 the other flange resting upon the upper surface of the dirt pan and being riveted thereto.

Adjacent to the opposite edge of the dirt pan is another scraper member 3? that risen sufficiently high from the pan to brimY its upper edge in Contact `with the lower 'face of the upper run of the coirfeycr belt ll. Such scraper member 33 is here shown as a flat plate that is held inplace by being riveted to an anglesiron 3i which latter is also riveted to the dirt pan. For stitlening purposes lt preferably provide against the outer face of the member 33 a .metal strip 35 that is secured by the same rivets that rivet the member to the angle-iron 5311. Both of the scraper members 32 and 33 extend across the elevator so as to scrape the entire surfaces of the moving parts that they are in contact with. It is because of the necessity for setting the dirt pan in exactly the right relative position with respect to the roller 21 so that the scraper member will operate effectively on it that the pan is made adjustable indepen/lently of the adjustment of the bearings for the roller Q1. After such relative position has been secured, then it will not ordinarily be necessary to independently adjust the pan, although such independent adj ustn'ient can be readily and quickly performed at any time if required. It will be evident that with the parts in position as described, and with the belt moving in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, any dirt will be prevented from adhering either to the suis face of the roller or the inner surface ol" the upper run of the belt, which very materially aids in preventing injury to the belt that n'iight readily occur if pebbles or other hard substances were allowed to be carried between the belt and the roller. 'lho contacting with the roller and the belt by the members 32 and 33 elfectually prevents such injury, and any dirt, pebbles or other matter that may be scraped olf of these moving parts will drop onto the pan, and the upturned member 32 at the lower end of such pan will prevent such matter from sliding oft the pan and getting between. the roller and the belt.

To ensurethe two blocks or bearing members 19 being held more rigidly together, Q

provide a tie-rod 3G that extends between them and has its ends inserted through holes in upstanding ears 37 carried by the members 19, nuts 38 `being screwed upon the projecting ends of such rods. A tubular spreader 39 surrounds this rod between the ears 37.

l0 indicates a shoe, here shown as a wide heavy metal plate which extends across the lower end of the elevator and projects beyond the sides thereof', as usual. Such shoe is bolted to the under sides of the two blocks 14- and to this shoe is adapted to be connected a brace rod (not shown) that cX- tends to and is secured to the main frame of the grading machine. The means for raising the elevator as a whole so as to vary its inclination, and rollers for furnishing a support for the internrediate part of the belt are shown in part, but they, as well as other features of construction, are not here described because they are features in common use in machines of this character and their construction and operation will be understood by those familiar with such machines.

By my invention I provide readily accessible means whereby the boxes or bearings for the lower roller over which the endless conveyor belt travels can be readily and quickly adjusted so as to compensate for any stretching of the belt that occurs from use, and also provide other means that are equally accessible for adjustably 'securing in place the devices that prevent any matter passing between said roller and belt that would tend to injure the belt.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An elevator for elevating graders comprising, in combination, a frame, an endless belt, a roller adjacent to one end of said frame over; which roller said belt passes, supporting means for said roller movable longitudinally of said elevator frame to adjust the tension of the belt, and a dirt pan adjustable relatively to and movable with said supporting means.

2. An elevator for elevating graders comprising, in combination, a frame, an endless belt, a roller adjacent to one end of said frame over which roller said belt passes, supporting means for said roller movable longitudinally of said elevator frame to adjust the tension of the belt, a dirt pan adj ustable relatively to and movable with said supporting means, and a scraper carried by said pan and operating to remove dirt from said roller.

3. An elevator for elevating graders comprising, in combination, a frame, an endless belt, a roller adjacent to one end of said frame over which roller said belt passes, supporting means for said roller movable longitudinally of 'said elevator frame to adjust the tension of the belt, a dirt pan adjustable relatively to and movable with said supporting means, and a scraper carried by said pan and operating to remove dirt from said belt.

4. An elevator for elevating graders comprising in combination a frame, an endless belt, a roller adjacent to one end of said frame over which roller said belt passes, adjustable belt-tensioning means, a dirt pan connected with said tensioning means and adjustable with the same and also adjustable relatively thereto, and separate means for respectively holding said tensioning means and said dirt panin their different adjusted positions.

5. An elevator for elevating graders oomprising in combination a frame, an endless belt, a roller adjacent to one end of said frame over which roller said belt passes, adjustable belt-tensioning means, a dirt pan connected with said tensioning means and adjustable with the same and also adjustable relatively thereto, separate means for respectively holding said tensioning means and said dirt pan in their different adjusted positions, and means carried by and adjustable with said dirt pan and normally 'in scraping contact with said roller. 6. An elevator for elevating graders comprising in combination a frame, an endless belt, a. ro-ller adjacent to one end of said frame over which roller said belt passes, adjustable belt-tensioning means, a dirt pan connected with said tensioning means and adjustable with the same and also adjustable relatively thereto, separate means for respectively holding said ytensioning means and said dirt pan in their different adjusted positions, and means carried by and adjustable with said dirt pan for respectively contacting with the roller and with the-inner surface of the belt.

JAMES l). BENBON. 

